Villarete: BRT is a go, complete by 2020

After they did not get any declaration that the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is cancelled, the Cebu City government is targeting to have a functional system by 2020.

This if the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the implementing arm of the project, will resume its implementation of the multi-billion project in Cebu City.

"In so far as news reports (and press releases) are concerned, we don't have any confirmation yet that BRT is a (no) go and that means that we will have the BRT," City Administrator Nigel Paul Villarete told reporters.

Villarete, an urban planner, was designated by Mayor Tomas Osmeña to look into the BRT project for the city.

Few days ago, the DOTr and the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Visayas (OPAV) released press statements about the inclusion of BRT in the planned Integrated Inter-Modal Transport System (IITS) for Metro Cebu.

Under the IITS, the projects included are the Point-to-Point (P2P) bus system; Monorail in Lapu-Lapu City; Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in three-lane roads; Light Rail Transit (LRT) from Carcar to Danao Line and Mandaue to Airport Line; and Intelligent Transportation System.

As for the BRT, both the DOTr and OPAV stated that the system should be implemented on roads with at least three lanes.

"It was a common agreement that BRT on narrow roads will fail. DOTr has identified the roads with three lanes in both directions where we can allow it to operate, as it will not be effective if we allow them to operate on already congested areas," Dino stated in the press release.

Sought for comment, Villarete said the main issue is for the BRT to push through or not.

Since DOTr and OPAV incorporated BRT in the IITS, he said BRT is a go and it should be implemented.

The 23-kilometer BRT route will traverse from N. Bacalso Avenue, South Road Property, Osmeña Boulevard, N. Escario Street and Governor Cuenco Avenue.

Villarete said only portions of N. Escario Street and Governor Cuenco Avenue or the Banilad-Talamban corridor have less than three lanes.

He said Osmeña already requested the DOTr to review the implementation of a dedicated lane at the center road along the Ayala to Talamban section of the BRT Project.

The existing scope of the project is that buses of the BRT system will be sharing the Banilad-Talamban road with private vehicles.

Villarete, however, said DOTr should look for ways that the road widening aspect of BRT will be implemented along Ban-Tal corridor so that the system will be implemented in a median dedicated lane.

He said several sectors have already stated that BRT system is viable for the existing route that has been approved, including the World Bank.

With the non-cancellation of BRT project, Villarete said the city government will be sending a communication to the DOTr on the list of activities that will be done to resume implementation of the BRT project.

The implementation of the project has been suspended after DOTr and OPAV recommended for its cancellation in April this year.

Some of the activities that need to be undertaken are; hiring of the Technical Support Consultancy, social management consultancy, renewal of employees of Project Implementation Unit; reinstate the BRT budget under the 2019 budget of DOTr; land acquisition aspect of the project; downloading of funds for the greening program; evaluation of the detailed engineering design, among others. —